Rope arrangement

ABSTRACT

An exemplary jump rope arrangement and, more specifically, to a jump rope assembly arrangement including a portion comprising a noise-making instrument is provided. For example, the jump rope arrangement comprises a rope and first and second handle assemblies. The first and second handle assemblies are coupled to first and second ends of the rope respectively. The first and second handle assemblies are configured for generating noise. The first and second handle assemblies may each comprise a handle portion, a shell part, and a cap lock. A plurality of pellets may be provided within the shell part for imparting a noise-making characteristics to the handle assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present invention claims priority from U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 60/609,013 filed on Sep. 9, 2004, the entire disclosure of whichincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates a rope arrangement and, more specifically,to a jump rope assembly arrangement including a portion comprising anoise-making instrument.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Maracas and musical shakers can be used in the rhythm sections oforchestras and other musical groups to establish rhythm in musicalperformances of all kinds. The maraca generally comprises a sphericallyshaped dried and hollowed gourd containing dried seeds or other pelletsthat produces a “rattle” sound when it is shaken. Such maracas aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,808,215 and 2,318,460, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Jump ropes are often used for exercising, athletic training orchildren's amusement. The ends of the jump ropes are usually plainwooden or plastic handles without including any entertaining features toadd interest to the jump rope. In fact, maracas have not been used ashandles for any such jump rope arrangements. Accordingly, it is one ofthe primary objects of the present invention to provide a jump rope thatuses one or more shaker instruments as the handles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Such object of the present invention is addressed using an exemplaryjumping rope arrangement in accordance with an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. Such exemplary jump rope arrangement may includea portion which comprises one or more noise-making instruments. Thenoise-making instrument may comprise a shaking instrument having ahollow shell part with pellets enclosed therein, and can be configuredto be coupled to the jumping rope. This additional feature canfacilitate an amusement quality to the jump rope by providing musicalsounds when the jumping rope is m use.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the handles of theshaking instrument are the handles of the jumping rope.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of theinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description, which shows and describes illustrativeembodiments of the invention. As will be realized, the invention iscapable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative innature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of an exemplary jump rope arrangement which includestwo exemplary shaker instruments interconnected via a rope to form ajump rope arrangement according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the exemplary shaker instrumentsinterconnected via the rope in accordance with one exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the shaker instrument connected to a rope inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side cut-away view of the shaker instrument in accordancewith the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the shaker instrument for the jump ropearrangement in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a side cut-away view of a first portion of the shakerinstrument in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a side cut-away view of a first portion of the shakerinstrument in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a second portion (e.g., a cap lock part) of afirst portion of the shaker instrument in accordance with the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention to be connected to thefirst portion;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a second portion of a first portion (e.g., acap lock part) of the shaker instrument in accordance with the secondexemplary embodiment of the present invention to be connected to thefirst portion; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of another second portion (a cap lock part) ofthe shaker instrument in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals and characters,unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements,components, or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, whilethe present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe Figures, it is done so in connection with the illustrativeembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of a jumping rope arrangement according to thepresent invention may be provided that can include a portion whichcomprises a noise-making instrument. The noise-making instrument maycomprise a shaking instrument having a hollow shell part with pelletsenclosed therein, and can be configured to be coupled to the jumpingrope.

FIG. 1 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a jump rope arrangement 50in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.The jumping rope arrangement 50 comprises a rope 40 and handleassemblies 60 (e.g., shaker instruments). The rope 40 may be formed of afabric material, a plastic material, or other suitable material. Forexample, the rope 40 may comprise a polyester rope, a nylon rope, or aplastic tube. The rope 40 may be configured in any suitable manner, andcan have various designs and shapes. Alternatively or in addition, therope 40 may comprise a hollow extruded piece of plastic and/or caninclude a braided polyester rope.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the handle assemblies 60can be coupled to first and second ends of the rope 40. Each handleassembly 60 may comprise a shell part 10, a cap lock 1, and a handleportion 11, as will be described more fully below. Pellets 25 may beprovided in the shell part 10 of one or more the handle assemblies 60.The pellets 25 provide a noise-making characteristic to the handleassembly 60 when they impact internal walls of the respective shell part10. The shell part 10 of the handle assembly 60 can be translucent toallow for at least a partial viewing of pellets 25. For example, one ormore of the shell parts 10 may be formed from a translucent plasticmaterial. Further, the cap lock 1 may be translucent to allow forviewing of the rope 40 inserted into the cap lock 1 of one or more ofthe respective shell parts 10 (as described in further detail below).For example, such cap lock(s) 1 may be formed of a translucent plasticmaterial.

Another exemplary embodiment of the jumping rope arrangement 50′ isshown in FIG. 2. For example, the respective shell part 10 of one ormore of the handle assemblies 60 is opaque. In the exemplary embodimentsshown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, one or more of the handle assemblies 60 maybe decorated visually or tactilely. Thus, in such one or more handleassemblies 60, for example, the shell part 10 of the handle assembly 60,may be painted. This exemplary handle assembly 60, and for example theshell part 10 of the handle assembly 60, may be textured for designpurposes. Alternately, or additionally, the handle portion 11 of thehandle assembly 60 may be textured with a gripping surface.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate side views of an exemplary embodiment of thehandle assembly 60 (e.g., the shaker instrument). In this exemplaryembodiment, the handle assembly 50 comprises a handle portion 11, ashell part 10, and a cap lock 1.

The handle portion 11 is configured for gripping by a user, and may besubstantially planar. However, the handle portion 11 may be formed inany suitable manner, e.g., bent or may include an opening for receivingthe hand of a user. The exemplary handle portion 11 may comprise aninner section 22 and an outer section 23. The inner section 22 can be ina form of a rod, and may extend to a top receiving portion 24 of thehandle portion 11. The inner section 22 may be formed of a flexiblematerial, such as rubber or flexible plastic so as to allow the jumprope handle 20 to bend in this region. The outer section 23 may befabricated from a more rigid material. For example, the handle portion11 (e.g., the outer section 23 of the handle portion 11) may be providedwith a texture such as a gripping surface.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the top receiving portion 24 of the handleportion 11 may be coupled to the shell part 1. In particular, the topreceiving portion 24 can be coupled to a locking portion 13 of the shellpart 1 (also see FIGS. 9 and 10). The coupling of the handle portion 11to the shell part 1 may be achieved in any suitable manner. For example,the top receiving portion 24 may be threaded and the locking portion 13may include a corresponding thread. Alternately, the top receivingportion 24 and the locking portion 13 may be configured for a press fitto one another. While coupling of the shell part 1 to the handle portion11 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 couples the top receiving portion 24 of thehandle portion 11 to the locking portion 13 of the shell part 1, anysuitable components may be provided for coupling the shell part 1 to thehandle portion 11.

As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, the pellets 25 arepreferably provided within the shell part 10 of the handle assembly 60.The pellets 25 impart a noise-making characteristic to the handleassembly 60. Thus, the handle assembly 60 can provide an entertainingand sound-making handle for jumping ropes in contrast to the existingplain handles that are currently used for the jumping ropes. Inparticular, when a user utilizes the jump rope arrangement 50, thehandle assemblies 60 are moved by the user to cause a movement of therope 40. The movement of the handle assemblies 60 causes the pellets 25to impact an inner wall of the shell assembly 10, thus causing arattling noise.

Exemplary embodiments of a first portion (e.g., the cap lock 1) of thehandle assembly 60 is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. For example, the caplock 1 comprises a hollow cavity 2, a top bore 5 for receiving the jumprope 40, and a bottom portion 6 for coupling to the shell part 10. Thetop bore 5 is adapted to receive an end of the rope 40. The rope 40 maybe locked in place in any suitable manner. According to one exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the rope 40 may be locked orsecured in place by pressure coupling, via complementary locking membersprovided on the rope 40 and the top bore 5, or via an adhesive. Thecoupling of the bottom portion 6 to the shell part 10 may be achieved inany suitable manner. For example, the bottom portion 6 may couple to atop locking portion 14 of the shell part 10. Thus, the bottom portion 6and the top locking portion 14 may be provided with complementarythreads.

The cap lock 1 may be formed of any suitable material. For example, thecap lock 1 may be formed of a plastic material. Further, the cap lock 1may be fabricated in any suitable manner. Thus, for example, the plasticcap lock 1 may be fabricated by blow molding. A plurality of ridges 3may be provided in the hollow cavity part 2, which can be used to bettersecure the rope 40 therein.

FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 illustrate exemplary embodiments of a second portion(e.g., a shell part 10) of the handle assembly 60. For example, thefirst portion 1 shown in FIG. 6 is adapted to be connected to the secondportion 10 of FIG. 9, and the first portion 1 of FIG. 7 is adapted to bepress-fitted with the second portion 10 of FIG. 8. As shown in thesefigures, the exemplary embodiments of the shell part 10 may include ahollow member 12, a top locking portion 14, a bottom locking portion 13,and a plurality of pellets 25. The shell part 10 may be formed of anysuitable material, e.g., a plastic material. Further, the shell part 10may be fabricated in any suitable manner, e.g., by blow molding. Inparticular, the top locking portion 14 of the second portion (shellpart) 10 couples to the bottom portion 6 of the first portion (cap lock)1. As described above, the locking portion 13 may be used to couple theshell part 10 to the handle portion 11. In particular, the lockingportion 13 may be configured for coupling with the top receiving portion24 of the handle portion 11. The plurality of pellets 25 are retainedinside the hollow member 12, and impart the noise-making characteristicto the handle assembly 60. The pellets 25 may be formed of any suitablematerial for generating an impact noise or rattle when caused to impactthe walls of the hollow member 12. For example, the pellets 25 maycomprise plastic beads.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention.Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments willbe apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein.It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be ableto devise numerous arrangements which, although not explicitly describedherein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within thespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A jump rope arrangement comprising: a flexible material extending fora predetermined length and having first and second ends; and at leastone assembly adapted to be held by a user, and configured to generatenoise, wherein the at least one assembly is coupled to at least one ofthe first end or the second end of the flexible material or the secondhandle assembly.
 2. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 1,wherein the flexible material is at least one of a rope or a cord. 3.The jump rope arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneassembly includes a first handle assembly and a second handle assembly,and wherein at least one of the first handle assembly is coupled to thefirst end of the flexible material, and the second handle assembly iscoupled to the second end of the flexible material.
 4. The jump ropearrangement according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least oneassembly comprises a handle portion, a hollow part, and a furtherportion.
 5. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 4, wherein thehandle portion comprises a flexible inner section and a rigid outersection.
 6. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 4, wherein thehandle portion is adapted to couple to the hollow part, and wherein thehollow part couples to the further section.
 7. The jump rope arrangementaccording to claim 6, wherein the handle portion comprises a topreceiving portion, wherein the further portion comprises a lockingportion, and wherein the top receiving portion couples to the lockingportion.
 8. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 7, wherein eachof the top receiving portion and the locking portion are threaded. 9.The jump rope arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the furtherportion comprises a bottom portion, wherein the shell part comprises atop locking portion, and wherein the bottom portion couples to the toplocking portion.
 10. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 9,wherein each of the bottom portion and the top locking portion arethreaded.
 11. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 4, furthercomprising a plurality of pellets provided within the hollow part. 12.The jump rope arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the cap lockcomprises a top bore for receiving an end of the rope.
 13. The jump ropearrangement according to claim 4, wherein the hollow part istranslucent.
 14. A handle assembly adapted to be used with at least oneof a rope or a wire, and configured to be held by a user, the handleassembly comprising: a first handle portion; a second hollow portionwhich is adapted to receive therein a plurality of pellets; and a thirdportion, wherein the first portion couples to the second portion, andthe second portion couples to the third portion.
 15. The jump ropearrangement according to claim 14, wherein the first portion comprises atop receiving portion, wherein the second portion comprises a lockingportion, and wherein the top receiving portion couples to the lockingportion.
 16. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 15, whereineach of the top receiving portion and the locking portion are threaded.17. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the thirdportion comprises a bottom portion, wherein the second portion comprisesa top locking portion, and wherein the bottom portion couples to the toplocking portion.
 18. The jump rope arrangement according to claim 17,wherein each of the bottom portion and the top locking portion arethreaded.